In my last article I shared with you the general principles of flow and how to get more of it. A big part of enjoying more flow is understanding your strengths and how to play to them. In this article, I am going to share with you the characteristics of one particular personality type – the Dynamo – and would invite you to determine whether or not this is you. Each type has its strengths and its challenges. The key to flow, stress resilience and productivity is learning how to be more conscious about what you bring into each activity. Just because something is not a particular strength, doesn’t mean you can’t do it – it just takes more thought and effort.

So, what is a Dynamo? They are people who are highly creative, competitive, visionary and goal-driven. They tend to be more task-focused than people-focused and are great at getting things done. They tend to be impatient though and dislike being constrained by rules. If you think you are a Dynamo, you are probably a great starter but need to make sure that you finish things off or have a team that will do that for you. Otherwise you will have a lot of projects that do not have sufficient ongoing attention to have continuing benefit.

How do you relate to time? Do you just see the future ahead of you, cluttered with actions and goals which threaten to suffocate you? Are you in the present moment, having fun but not getting much done? Are you stuck in the past with no idea how to develop the insight, motivation or courage to move forward? Or are you able to see time as a continuum with the past, present and future laid out in front of you?

If it is the latter, it means you are more able to learn from life experiences, get things done in the present and plan for the future.

“Not all hours and minutes are the same length” as Roger Black says. It can speed by when you are enjoying yourself, or slow down when you’re not. While we all have the same 1440 minutes every day but how is it that some people get more done than others?

It is all down to your relationship with time, how clear you are about your priorities and how everything fits in together. It is important to prioritise those things which move you towards your goals in an economical manner. This combines both effectiveness and efficiency so that your productivity improves.

A productive person is calm, focused, disciplined, flexible, balanced, has perspective and, generally, does what they say they will do. This increases your reputation with yourself and so your self-esteem enjoys a good boost too.

There are four main time enablers:

Perspective: Purpose, goals, priorities and values

Self: Self insight, self-motivation and self-management

Others: Understanding and managing others

Balance: A balance between downtime and uptime

When you have a clear perspective, with an ability to understand and manage yourself (and those others on whom you depend to get things done – or to whom you should be delegating) and balance this with self-care, you are in a much better position to improve your time management. You will also feel more resourceful, your productivity enemies slain.

Here are my top tips:

Focus on just two important items each day – this frees up your mind-clutter and gives you a sense of achievement

Fill in the spaces with smaller jobs

Have a power-hour once a week where you do all those little things you don’t have time for but which make you feel really good when they are done.

Whatever you are doing, apply your 100% attention to as you can only do one thing at once, contrary to popular belief. In addition, the stop start involved in not doing this can increase the time needed for each task by as much as 5 times!

Limit distractions – be ruthless but respectful about it

Delegate well

Manage your information overload – be super-ruthless on this one

Procrastinate discriminately – some things should be procrastinated but a lot of people procrastinate the important in favour of the trivial

Make your to do list a reality list and keep your fantasy (wish) list separate. Work your list with passion and fervour

Getting things done should be a joy, not a chore, giving you a sense of empowerment, achievement and progress. By following these simple steps (which I cover in detail as part of my Achieving More in Less Time workshop), you will find that your productivity soars.

If you could use some help overcoming your time-management demons, why not book a session? Call me on 0845 130 0854.

Employees can make or break your business. Finding the right ones, putting them in the right roles and keeping them motivated can feel like a full time job in itself. Making poor hiring decisions and mismanaging your employees is alarmingly expensive, and can influence the morale of the rest of your team, as well as having a detrimental impact on your business and your time. Here are my ten fundamentals to get you started:

When hiring, be clear about the skills, knowledge, attitudes and motivations you want from the individual. If they don’t have the right attitude, no matter how skilful a leader you are, keeping them focussed, productive and positive will be a drain on your energy, your team and your business.

Being clear about what motivates an individual helps you match them to your vacancy. An extrovert will not thrive in an isolated role; a big thinker will make expensive errors in a job requiring lots of detail work. Their motivation will drop quicker than you can say “job satisfaction”.

An effective interview process ensures that you treat every applicant equally, you leave no stone unturned and that you are making a balanced business decision, rather than reacting to their charm at interview. Charm over substance is never a good hiring strategy. In addition, many hiring decisions are based on urgent need – consequences are not considered until they are experienced in glorious and painful high definition.

Make sure you involve the right people in your interview process. Having input and feedback from people who will be working with the new recruit is invaluable – not just to have a second opinion, but also to make sure they buy into the hiring decision.

A comprehensive induction process will make sure your new hire gets up to speed and feels part of the company as quickly as possible. Things to consider are: computer, phone and desk (yes, some people forget to plan these for new recruits!); meeting work colleagues, other departments, learning about the company, it’s products, values, processes and procedures, what to do and where to go if there are any problems.

Make sure your new recruit is pre-announced to the rest of the team so they are expecting them and can extend a warm welcome. I have seen new-hires feel shunned because their team-members were not expecting them and didn’t understand the reason for them joining.

Have regular 1:1s to discuss progress, plans and projects. It is also a good time to discuss any concerns they have and, do please make sure you take action promised – it can be very demoralising otherwise. 1:1s, well run, are hugely motivational and can be a great way of increasing confidence, productivity and motivation.

Delegate well. To do this, you need to understand the skillset and motivation levels of each individual member of your team. Some people need a lot of support and direction, others will require more autonomy. Delegation is not about abdication, nor does it involve micro-management. It’s about giving them what they need to perform well. This is a complex and important area that could benefit from a several blogs in its own right.

Know when to take remedial action. A disciplinary – formal or otherwise – is about improvement. Inaction can make a bad problem worse as the employee believes that poor performance is acceptable. Worse, fellow-employees may also see that this is the new standard they can relax into. Worse still, if you decide to dismiss someone after a period of inaction, it may be difficult to prove your case in a tribunal. Dealing with problems as they arise is essential.

Develop your individuals. You need to develop them in the right way, in the right things. You can develop them through training, coaching, increased responsibility, new projects, and secondments.

Hiring and managing employees is highly rewarding when done well. It is, however, a minefield. If you are even slightly concerned, or are not getting the results you want, do seek support. With the right structures and skills in place, you can experience the rewards on several levels: a better relationship with your staff, an empowered and motivated workforce, happier customers, greater profit and a reputation as being an employer of choice.

To your success.

Tricia Woolfrey

PS For help with hiring the right people and effective people management and development call 0845 130 0854. This is not something you want to leave to chance.